Open Access

ARTICLE

miR-203 Inhibits the Invasion and EMT of Gastric Cancer Cells by Directly Targeting Annexin A4

Jianye Li^*, Bin Zhang^†, Jizhao Cui^‡, Zhen Liang^§, Kexia Liu^*

* Department of First General Surgery, Cangzhou Central Hospital, Hebei, P.R. China
† Department of Surgery, Cangzhou Haixing County Hospital, Hebei, P.R. China
‡ Department of Surgery, Cangzhou Suning Renhe Hospital, Hebei, P.R. China
§ Department of Pharmacy, Cangzhou Maternity and Child Care Hospital, Hebei, P.R. China

Oncology Research 2019, 27(7), 789-799. https://doi.org/10.3727/096504018X15444387696532

Abstract

Many studies have shown that downregulated miR-203 level is in a variety of cancers including gastric cancer (GC). However, the precise molecule mechanisms of miR-203 in GC have not been well clarified. In the current study, we investigated the biological functions and molecular mechanisms of miR-203 in GC cell lines. We found that miR-203 is downregulated in GC tissues and cell lines. Moreover, the low level of miR-203 was associated with increased expression of annexin A4 in GC tissues and cell lines. The invasion and EMT of GC cells were suppressed by overexpression of miR-203. However, downregulation of miR-203 promoted invasion and EMT of GC cells. Bioinformatics analysis predicted that annexin A4 was a potential target gene of miR-203. Next, luciferase reporter assay confirmed that miR-203 could directly target annexin A4. Consistent with the effect of miR-203, downregulation of annexin A4 by siRNA inhibited the invasion and EMT of GC cells. Introduction of annexin A4 in GC cells partially blocked the effects of miR-203 mimic. Introduction of miR-203 directly targeted annexin A4 to inhibit the invasion and EMT of GC cells. Overall, reactivation of the miR-203/annexin A4 axis may represent a new strategy for overcoming metastasis of GC.

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Keywords

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